Chemicals in Food: Did you know that the artificial sweeteners that you consume on a daily basis are chemicals? Yes, it is correct. A variety of chemicals are found in about \(80\% \) of the packaged foods we eat. Some of these compounds are extremely detrimental to your health, while others are required to keep food fresh and edible. To learn more about chemicals in food, read the below article.

Define Food Additives

A number of chemicals are added during food processing to extend its shelf life and make it more attractive. These are called food additives. The main categories of food additives are the following:

I. Food colours
II. Flavour and sweeteners
III. Antioxidants
IV. Fat emulsifier and stabilizing agents
V. Flour improvers
VI. Preservatives
VII. Nutritional supplements such as vitamins, minerals, etc.

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Except for nutritional supplements, all others have no nutritional value. These are added to increase the shelf life of stored foods or for cosmetic purposes. Antioxidants, preservatives, fat emulsifiers and stabilizers, and flour improvers are used to enhance the shelf life of stored food, while colours, flavours and sweeteners help to add cosmetic value.

Now let us discuss about some of the food additives:

Artificial Sweetening Agents

Artificial sweetening agents are the chemical compounds that give foods a sweetening effect and improve their smell and taste.
Natural sweeteners such as sucrose, lactose (milk sugar), cane syrup, and honey are the most commonly used, but they increase our caloric intake, and therefore, many people prefer artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners are used in diet drinks, regular soft drinks, and low-sugar products. They contain negligible calories and do not affect the teeth. Such sweeteners are also recommended for diabetics, but excessive use of these sweeteners should be avoided as they are not metabolized and can therefore affect the human kidney. Some important artificial sweeteners are:

1. Saccharin (ortho-sulphobenzimide)

It is the first most popular artificial sweetener. It has been used as a sweetener for many foods since its discovery in \(1879\). It is \(1,2\)-benzisothiazol-\(3\)-one-\(1, 1\)-dioxide ​and occurs as a white crystalline powder. It has a very sweet taste and is roughly \(550\) times sweeter than sucrose. It is excreted from the body in the urine, unchanged and appears completely inert and harmless when ingested. Its use is of great ​value to diabetics and people who need to control caloric intake.

Properties

The sodium salt of saccharin is a water-soluble salt that is more palatable andr from unpleasant saccharin after taste. It is the dihydrate of the sodium salt ​of saccharin. Its calcium salt is also soluble in water and is used.

2. Aspartame

Aspartame is one of the most commonly used artificial sweeteners. It is a methyl ester of a dipeptide derived from aspartic acid and phenylalanine. It is about \(200\) times sweeter than sucrose. It should be noted that aspartame is unstable at cooking temperatures and is therefore used as a sugar substitute in cold dishes and soft drinks.

3. Alitame

It is \(2000\) times as sweet as the same mass of cane sugar. Alitame is a high potency sweetener and is more stable than aspartame during cooking. However, there is a major problem with alitame and a similar type of high potency sweetener that it is difficult to control the sweetness of the added foods.

4. Sucralose

This artificial sweetener is a trichloro derivative of sucrose. It is roughly \(660\) times sweeter than cane sugar, but the physical appearance of both is the same. The calorific value of sucralose is almost zero, and it is stable at cooking temperatures.

Food Preservatives

These are chemicals that are added to food to prevent or delay spoilage and to maintain its nutritional value over long periods of time. Food that contains moisture deteriorates due to the growth of microorganisms. The growth of microorganisms in a food material can be inhibited by adding food preservatives.

Food preservatives are divided into two groups:

Class I: These preservatives include table salt, sugar, and vegetable oils.

Class II: These preservatives are chemical preservatives. The chemical substance used as a food preservative should not be harmful to humans. The chemicals that are added to food to prevent it from spoiling are called chemical preservatives. In our country, two chemical preservatives which are permitted for use are:

1. Benzoic acid (Sodium benzoate)
Benzoic acid or its sodium salt, sodium benzoate, is widely used to preserve food. For the preservation of fruits, fruit juices, pumpkins and jams, sodium benzoate is used as a preservative because it is soluble in water and therefore easily mixes with the food product. A concentration of \(0.06%\) to \(0.1%\) sodium benzoate is sufficient for preserving fruit juices and squashes. Sodium benzoate is metabolized by converting it to hippuric acid, \({{\rm{C}}_6}{{\rm{H}}_5}{\rm{CONHC}}{{\rm{H}}_2}{\rm{COOH}}\), which is eventually excreted in the urine.

2. Potassium metabisulphite or sodium metabisulphite
Potassium metabisulphite or sodium metabisulphite is used to pre-package colourless foods like fruit juices, pumpkin, apples, lychees, and raw mango chutney. These are not used to preserve coloured foods because the sulphur oxide made from these chemicals is a bleaching agent. These preservatives in reaction with the acid of the juice liberate sulphur dioxide which is very effective in killing the harmful microorganisms present in the food and thus prevents it from getting spoiled. Sorbic acid and propanoic acid salts are also used as preservatives.

Antioxidants in Food

Antioxidants are substances that prevent or delay the oxidative degradation of foods. Antioxidants prevent the oxidation of foods containing fats and oils. For example, fats and oils, as well as foods containing fat and oil, are easily oxidized and rancid. Their smell and taste change and become unpleasant due to rancidity. Antioxidants act as sacrificial materials because they are more reactive to oxidation than food materials. These antioxidants also minimize the damage to some amino acids and the loss of some vitamins from rancidity. The oxidation of food produces radicals. The antioxidants react with these radicals and stop the chain reaction of the oxidation of the food. Antioxidants, therefore, reduce the involvement of radicals in the ageing process. The most common antioxidants are butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA).

Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) are added to preserve fats in packaged food. Oxygen reacts preferentially with BHA or BHT rather than fats or oils, and therefore, these prevent oxidative spoilage of food items.

Sulphur dioxide and sulphite as antioxidants: Sulphur dioxide and sulphite are also used as antioxidants because of their technological efficiency and versatility. They act as antimicrobial agents, structure modifiers, antioxidants and enzyme inhibitors. The salts used are sodium or potassium sulphites and bisulphites. They are widely used in wines and beers, Fruit juices, pickles, sugar syrups, and peeled or dried cut fruits and vegetables.

Need for Prevention of Food Adulteration

Adulteration refers to the intentional or deliberate addition of unapproved foreign substances to food or the removal of beneficial ingredients from food. As a result, the foods consumed can have many harmful effects on health. Adulterated food has a direct impact on public health. This is a serious problem, especially among the undernourished population. This is a serious problem and needs to be addressed by laws and regulations. Safety limits for various adulterants were set in India by the natural standard of quality called PFA—Prevention of Food Adulteration. The PFA standards dictate the minimum requirement for all types and categories of food. The rules were first introduced in \(1955\) and revised from time to time.

Summary

A number of chemicals are added during food processing to extend its shelf life and make it more attractive. These are called food additives. Food colour, food preservatives, flavour and sweeteners, antioxidants, fat emulsifiers, and stabilizing agents are some common food additives. Adulterated food has a direct impact on public health. This is a serious problem, especially among the undernourished population.

FAQs on Chemicals in Food

Q.1. What are the chemicals in food?
Ans: The chemicals present in food are food colours, flavour and sweeteners, antioxidants, fat emulsifiers and stabilizing agents, Flour improves, preservatives, and nutritional supplements such as vitamins, minerals, etc.

Q.2. Why are chemicals used in food?
Ans: Chemicals are added to foods for preservation, to make them more attractive, and to give them nutritional value.

Q.3. Can we eat food without chemicals?
Ans: No, because there is no such thing as a “chemical-free” food.

Q.4. What are organic foods?
Ans: Organic foods are crops that have been grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, or other genetically modified ingredients.

Q.5. Does organic food contain harmful chemicals?
Ans: No, because organic foods are produced by organic farming methods.

Q.6. How do we remove chemicals from my diet?
Ans: We can remove chemicals from our diet by reducing intake of sugar and processed food, by eating antioxidant-rich foods, decreasing salt intake, by eating foods that are high in prebiotics.

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